Tour de Ski – Page 4

Jacobsen Shines in Stage 5 While Johaug Takes Home the Wooden Medal; Maubet Bjornsen 7th

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 3, 2020

The 100th Tour de Ski Stage in Val di Fiemme, Italy, featuring a four lap 10-kilometer mass start classic. Coupling the results in distance racing over the last 14 months since Therese Johaug returned to the world cup and those of Stage 4, it seemed like a safe bet to predict a rematch between Johaug and her teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. Another opportunity to race head-to-head over every meter of the course, and for Johaug...

Racing Tour de Ski

Johaug Retains the Overall, Østberg Takes the Stage

Jason AlbertJanuary 1, 2020

Pursuit day at the Tour de Ski. Fifty-one skiers chased the yellow Tour de Ski leaders bib of Norway’s Therese Johaug during Stage 4, a 10-kilometer classic pursuit. Start times for the day’s pursuit were based on time back in Stage 3, a 10 k interval start skate. Johaug started first, with Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, 0.1 seconds back. A few skiers raced off with a small enough time deficit to dream of making...

Racing Tour de Ski

Bolshunov Steals the Show and the Overall Leader Bib in Stage 4

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 1, 2020

The hunter becomes the hunted. Looking back on previous tours, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov has not worn the leader bib going into the pursuit stage except for the 2016/2017 tour in Oberstdorf, Germany. That year, Ustiugov won six of the seven stages, placing second in the mass start classic in Stage 6, but still raced up the final hill climb with a significant buffer for the overall victory. This year, Ustiugov was the man to beat....

Racing Tour de Ski

Stage 3 Nail Biter: Johaug takes it by 0.7 Seconds Over Østberg — Three U.S. Skiers in the Top-10

Jason AlbertDecember 31, 2019

Toblach, Italy. A stunning stadium and backdrop with the Dolomites lording over the venue and a steady cling-clang of baritone bells greeted skiers along portions of the course. Stage 3 in Toblach, a 10-kilometer interval start skate, turbocharged the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski (TDS). After two stages, a Stage 1 mass start skate and Stage 2 skate sprint, Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva sat atop the overall standings. In third overall, Norway’s imminent threat, Therese Johaug, was positioned...

Racing Tour de Ski

Ustiugov Regains Control as Russia Sweeps the Podium in Stage 3

Rachel PerkinsDecember 31, 2019

New day, new venue, almost a new decade. The 2019/2020 Tour de Ski continued in Toblach, Italy with a 15-kilometer interval start skate. In the war of attrition that is the tour, the first stages set the tone. Hopefuls for the overall win seek to establish their position near the top without expending too much energy to hold up for the long haul. We saw this in the first stage, where the men’s field remained...

Racing Tour de Ski

Klæbo Takes Control as the Tour Moves to Tobalch

Jason AlbertDecember 29, 2019

With lickety-split snow and a two-lap course lined with fans, Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, a 1.5-kilometer skate sprint, sent a few ripples through the field, but solidified Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo as the TdS front runner. Yesterday, Klæbo, in second place, ceded little time to two of his main rivals for the overall, Russians Sergey Ustiugov, who won Saturday’s mass start skate, and Alexander Bolshunov, who placed third....

Racing Tour de Ski

Ustiugov Victorious Over Narrowly Spread Field in Stage 1 of the Tour de Ski (Updated)

Rachel PerkinsDecember 28, 2019

The starting corral was blocked by a wall of red before the start of the 15-kilometer mass start freestyle in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Of the top ten ranked athletes, eight hailed from either Norway or Russia, interrupted only by Iivo Niskanen of Finland and Lucas Chanavat of France. Front and center was last year’s victor Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. He became the youngest Tour de Ski Champion at 22 years of age after holding off Russia’s Sergey...

Racing Tour de Ski

Johaug Remains in Reach Despite a Stage 1 Tour de Ski Win

Jason AlbertDecember 28, 2019

Saturday marked the start of the 14th Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Forgoing the traditional prologue start to determine time back to the leader, organizers threw in a spicy 11-kilometer mass start freestyle. Easy to follow for fans, maybe not so much for those following in the wake of Norway’s Therese Johaug. The scene was a Swiss winter ideal: plentiful snow, portions of the course dappled in sunlight, others shrouded in a drifting-in and...

Racing Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski Short List

FasterSkierDecember 27, 2019

The Tour de Ski begins with a mass start bonanza on Saturday. In this non-championship year, the TDS takes on marquee status as one the season’s premier prizes. Seven stages with a variety of disciplines, this 14th edition promises a loaded field of skiers. For the women, Therese Johaug of Norway is the easy favorite. Johaug appears programmed for dominance — the TdS features five distance stages. Norway has been well suited for the TdS....

Racing Tour de Ski

Pre-Tour de Ski Brief

FasterSkierDecember 26, 2019

The Tour de Ski (TdS) is well into its teenage years. This year’s edition, the 14th, features three locales and the following races with a few minor new twists to excite this seasonal highlight of cross-country World Cup racing. Lenzerheide, Switzerland (stages 1-2) Dec. 28, 29 Stage 1: 10/15 k freestyle mass start. A mass start initiates the TdS this year, that’s new. It replaces the timeworn prologue. Stage 2: Skate sprint Toblach, Italy (Stages...

Racing Tour de Ski World Cup

International Skiers of the Year

Rachel PerkinsApril 18, 2019

With the 2018/2019 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is running a series of articles highlighting some of the players and performances from the season. This year, the International Skier of the Year awards are nominated to two Norwegians who spent the season at the top of the World Cup ranks, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg Consistency is Queen, and for that Ingvild Flugstad Østberg reigned superior in 2018/2019 with...

General News Tour de Ski

The Long Seven Stage Road: Ben Lustgarten Holds His Head High

Jason AlbertJanuary 7, 2019

Risk is part of putting on the race bib. In an individual sport like cross-country skiing, athletes expose themselves to be judged by place, time back, splits, sector times, overall rankings, fastest (or slowest) times on the day. In the latest version of the Tour de Ski (TdS) overall winners were crowned on Sunday; Norwegians Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the women’s Tour, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the men’s. Both were first-time winners. Within...

News Racing Tour de Ski US Ski Team World Cup

Klæbo Holds Off Ustiogov to Become the Youngest Winner of the Tour de Ski; Lustgarten 42nd

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 6, 2019

“It was just full speed to the finish and I am not stopping until the finish line now,” Johannes Høsflot Klæbo told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after his victory in Stage 6. With the 45 bonus seconds he gathered from his win in both the overall event and the bonus sprint in yesterday’s 15-kilometer classic race, Klæbo entered the final Stage of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski with a bit of insurance on his...

News Racing Tour de Ski

Østberg Makes a Clean Sweep on the Alpe Cermis; Diggins Sixth Overall

Jason AlbertJanuary 6, 2019

With the ascent comes the end. On Sunday the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage 7 9-kilometer skate pursuit brought the Tour de Ski to a close atop Val di Fiemme’s Alpe Cermis. The basic Alpe Cermis stats are stout: the slope approaches a 30 percent grade in sections, and averages 12 percent, and climbs 420 meters in 3.5 k. It’s a lung-buster. After the 60.67 k seven-stage Tour that began on Dec. 29...

News Racing Tour de Ski US Nationals

Sunday Race Rundown: Tour de Ski and U.S. Nationals (Updated)

FasterSkierJanuary 6, 2019

FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage Val di Fiemme, Italy 9 k Freestyle Pursuit Alpe Cermis Hill Climb Sunday was the day for the steeps, the V1, and some single pole sticks as the Tour de Ski’s (TdS) final Stage 7 9-kilometer skate pursuit up the Alpe Cermis played out. Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg began the stage with a 53.4-second head start on Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva who skied off in bib 2 as the...

General News Racing Results Tour de Ski

Back-to-Back Wins for Klæbo With Stage 6 Val di Fiemme 15 k Classic Victory

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 5, 2019

The final stages of the Tour de Ski (TdS) often bring drama: the attrition of some athletes leaving opportunity for others. Among the 45 male competitors who chose to start Saturday’s TdS Stage 6 of 7–a 15-kilometer classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy–some may have been experiencing fatigue from racing the Tour’s previous five stages; others may have been finding their peak. For Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani, who started Saturday in bib number...

News Racing Tour de Ski US Ski Team World Cup

Østberg Controls TdS Stage 6 from the Start; Diggins 7th

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 5, 2019

As the Tour de Ski (TdS) wanes in Val di Fiemme, Italy, position in the overall standings becomes of the utmost importance as after today’s 10-kilometer mass start classic race. There will be only one more opportunity to advance in this season’s TdS – the brutal hill climb up Alpe Cermis. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway made it evident that after three podium finishes in the Tour, she no longer wished to be the bridesmaid....

News Racing Tour de Ski

Saturday Race Rundown: Val di Fiemme’s Stage 6 of the TdS in the Spotlight

FasterSkierJanuary 5, 2019

FIS World Cup Stage 5 Tour de Ski 10 k/15 k Mass Start Classic Val di Fiemme, Italy Women’s Report | Men’s Report The clear outcome from the women’s 10-kilometer classic mass start was Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg’s fitness. The TdS leader began the day with a 35.4 second lead on second overall skier Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia. The time back to Nepryaeva at the end of Stage 6 only grew. Østberg’s form became evident around...

News Tour de Ski

Østberg Solos to Stage 5 Win; Diggins Steps on Podium and up to Third Overall

Gretchen BurkholderJanuary 3, 2019

The real race tension today was the race for third between the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Jessie Diggins and Russia’s Yulia Belorukova during the 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany, Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski (TdS). The race up front was a solo effort, as Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway started 24 seconds ahead of Russian skier Natalia Nepryaeva. Østberg held that lead until the finish, winning with a time of 26:21.2. Nepryaeva...

News Racing Tour de Ski

Klæbo and Ustiugov Duel in Oberstdorf; Klæbo Prevails at the Line

Jason AlbertJanuary 3, 2019

The crux of today’s Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage 5 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit came down to a simple yet taxing pulse of energy. That move occurred well into a race as the day’s main narrative was established by the two charging off-the-front. Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo began the pursuit in the blue bib as the Tour’s overall leader. Under overcast skies, free from the snowstorm that pummeled Stage 4, Klæbo started 15 seconds ahead of the...

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